120mm Fan Roundup

We test 6 different fans from Titan, Acousti, Arctic Cooling, Coolink, Antec and Papst. Using a Scythe Ninja in a closed case we?re set to find out which fan will act as the best heat exhaust.

Introduction & Specs

Introduction

With the industry moving towards better cooled enclosures and CPU heatsinks the logical choice was to increase fan size, to increase airflow without adding noise. Today we take a look at different 120mm fans from well known and less known manufactures. We started out with 2 fans and quickly added more to give you, the reader, a better overview of the performance and noise level of the 120mm fans out there. If you like to see a fan included please don’t hesitate to send us your suggestions.

This review is a to the point article, first we list the official specifications from each fan, and include a small picture of the fan mounting. On the next page you can find some information on how we mounted the fan inside a case. The 3rd page includes details on each fan, what extra’s you get and where you can buy it. On the last page we include real world performance tests and noise recordings inside a case, we use a CPU heatsink designed especially for 120mm fans.

The specifications put the Titan as the favorite in the performance category with a massive 111CFM airflow. The AcoustiFan and Arctic Fan 12 have specs which are eerie similar, the Papst and Coolink list the lower dBA readings with also the lowest CFM. The Antec Tricool sits somewhere in between the Acousti/Arctic duo and the Titan.

We’ll find out in our tests how close the official specs resemble real world performance. But first let’s mount them inside our test-case ->